The Baby Wore a Badge. Marie Ferrarella

he obviously knew it wasn’t Marlie talking—he thought she was special, but not that special—he’d assumed it was Erin who was pretending to answer him as his daughter. Seeing Calista standing there instead had temporarily thrown him off.

      He was about to ask her what she was doing here, but because this wasn’t his house, the question would undoubtedly come across as sounding rude and he didn’t want that.

      So instead he asked, “Are you here to see Erin?”

      “Well, this is awkward,” Calista said, more to herself than to him. She saw Jake’s eyebrows draw together over his electric-blue eyes in a silent question. Trapped, Calista had no choice but to explain what had prompted her comment. “Erin said she was going to tell you.”

      So far, this wasn’t getting any clearer. “Tell me what?”

      Belatedly she realized that she’d certainly put her foot into her mouth. Well, might as well make room for the other one as well, Calista thought philosophically.

      “That you and Corey are going out together for dinner.” She deliberately refrained from referring to the evening as a “guys’ night out,” thinking he might take offense at that.

      “I already know that. Corey already asked me to come with him.” He was still unclear what she was doing here. “But how do you figure into it?”

      And then suddenly, alarms went off in Jake’s head. There was nothing that he hated more than being set up on a “blind” date. Had Erin decided that he needed female companionship to get over Maggie’s tragic death and that this attractive little slip of a girl was going to be it? Was Callie—no, Calista—supposed to be his date?

      There was no other way but to put it to her bluntly. “Are you coming with us?”

      The question, coming out of the blue, stunned her. Was this Jake’s way of asking her out on a date?

       Don’t get carried away. Men like Jake didn’t beat around the bush; they asked directly. And they don’t ask women like you.

      She was pretty sure that to someone like Jake, she came across as a life-size Barbie doll despite her medium-brown hair. It was up to her to prove that she had far more substance than that.

      “No, I’m staying here and watching Marlie for you,” she explained simply. She made eye contact with the infant, thinking how much the baby’s eyes looked like Jake’s. “Aren’t I, Marlie?” As if in response, a bubble emerged from the infant’s rosebud mouth. Tickled, she looked up at Jake. “I think that’s a ‘yes.’”

      He still didn’t understand. “Why are you watching Marlie?” he wanted to know. “Why isn’t my sister doing it?”

      “Because I’m going to be busy helping Rose get ready, that’s why,” Erin answered, walking into the room.

      After letting Calista in, she’d rushed upstairs to tell Corey to get a move on, then come back down to check on Jake. He’d obviously gotten his signals crossed, she thought.

      Jake turned to look at his sister. “Get ready for what?”

      She wasn’t about to undertake a long explanation. Rose was going to be here any minute. She wanted Corey and her brother to be gone by then. “Never mind, you just go with Corey and have a good time.”

      As if on cue, Marlie began to wail. “Here, give her to me,” Calista urged, taking the squalling infant from him.

      It wasn’t that he felt he could do anything better than this confident young woman his sister had brought to his attention; it was just that he was suddenly feeling very protective and parental toward his daughter. He didn’t want to just leave her like this. What if this wasn’t just a regular crying jag? What if Marlie was hurting for some reason?